back to switzerland and how i cant stop beeing impressed of its beauty

i am off in berlin - no rehearsal for one week. so i have to go home. to basel- where my mother lives - i wanna sit in our beautiful garden- watch the goldfish and read ( the buenos aires book comes with me...)
i am taking the flight to zurich - because IT IS CHEAPER THAN THE TRAIN ¨
this is something i will never understand.
it is my first time flying with air- berlin so i have to ask the girl next to me if they want money for the food that they are serving?
N0. >one drink and one sandwich for one hour trip- for free!!!
another thing that i dont understand.
anyway i am landing in zurich. a friend from kindergarden picks me up and shows me the town. ( i dont know why but during my 19
years in switzerland i have never "really" been in zurich.
the first place is the zurichsee - the lake in the middle of the city. beautifull with the mountains around - IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL YOU CANT EVEN IMAGINE!
after a little swimm we are getting hungry , so we decide to buy some food for picknick. AND THIS IS SO FUCKING EXPENSIVE YOU CANT EVEN IMAGINE!!
after the dinner we are "clubbing" all night.
it is 5 o klock we wanna go home , it is already dawning. we are driving through the city by our old bikes.
it is a very special atmosphere - no one outside and its already getting bright . everything i see could be photographed and printed on a postcard.
the buildings - so big - so rich - so old ... somehow i can smell the wealth and also the bad taste of opulence. these buildings are to beautiful, they make me sick.
we arrive. we will sleep in the additional flat of his mother right above her phamacy. from there we have a beautiful view.
i observe the city waking up - the first who start working are the "citycleaners" i guess it is the same like anywhere else but a country where you could eat from thr floor , it is somehow awfull!!

i spent three beautiful weeks in switzerland in 1994. the trip was on the bill of Swiss Radio International, Intermundo and The Red Cross. It was part of my prize for winning an essay competition.
i recall landing in zurich where i was met by a pretty lady who put me on an all glass train that sped me to bern.
i spent a beautiful week with other young people in bern before going to stay with a family, the krahenbuhls in a small town called Kehrsatz.
what i remember of that trip was of a beautiful country and a not so warm people.
i remember coming to switzerland feeling that it was all about the red cross, geneva convention and wrist watches, but i was appalled to see that they had problems with drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, xenophobia and kids who kept jumping off a castle to their deaths.
i didnt make it to Geneva or Basel which is close to Italy, but i left with a firm promise to return again.
Did i think the country was too rich? not really. here in nigeria, especially on the island where i now work, the reek of opulence: palatial houses, gorgeous people, snazzy automobiles can be oppressive.
but i thoroughly enjoyed myself in switzerland and i remember going for a show by the rapper Ice T in a place called the rite alle(wrong spelling!!!)
a few years back i could recall nights spent driving across lagos with friends in a convoy of three cars, chasing fun, diving in and out of nite clubs, drinking and smoking up a storm.
we were young then, unfettered by responsibilities and the roads were free and safe.
today, armed robbers have taken over and staying at home and watching movies is more fun than cruising around town at night.
the loss of simple pleasures, these are the things that rankle the most.
i will be in germany soon, i hope we meet up.

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